Absorbent articles such as diapers, training pants, incontinence products, feminine hygiene products, swim undergarments, and the like conventionally include a liquid permeable body-side liner, a liquid impermeable outer cover, and an absorbent core. The absorbent core is typically located in between the outer cover and the liner for taking in and retaining liquids (e.g., urine) exuded by the wearer.
Many absorbent articles have been adapted for use in a training program, such as toilet training or enuresis control, or to provide indication of various medical, physical, or other conditions. Accordingly, various types of sensors and indicators, including moisture or wetness indicators, have been suggested for use in absorbent articles. Wetness indicators, for example, may include alarm devices that are designed to assist parents or attendants to identify a wet diaper condition quickly upon insult. The devices produce either a visual or an audible signal.
In some aspects of the present invention, for instance, inexpensive conductive threads or foils have been placed in the absorbent articles. The conductive materials serve as conductive leads for a signaling device and form an open circuit in the article that can be closed when a body fluid, such as urine, closes the circuit. In other aspects of the present invention, various other sensors have been included in absorbent articles, where the sensors may communicate test results, indications, or other data to a user or a caregiver via a signaling device. In these aspects of the present invention, although the absorbent articles may be disposable, the signaling devices are not. Thus, the signaling devices are intended to be removed from the article and reattached to a subsequent article.
Problems, however, have been encountered in using such articles for training and/or notification purposes in that executions of the concept are very limited in their convenience and efficacy, which translate to a loss in benefit to the consumer. Use of such articles and signaling devices, including transferring signaling devices between articles, in a hectic medical, institutional, or home setting can be difficult, especially where proper alignment of the signaling device with the absorbent article is essential.